The Jerk (1979)

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Steve Martin (story) &
Carl Gottlieb (story) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

From rags to riches... to rags.

Plot:

A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy.

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Gas Station | Cult Favorite | Riches To Rags | Grab Ass

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Navin R. Johnson / Cat Juggler / Pig Eye Jackson / Engineer Fred (also as Pig Eye Jackson)
Bernadette Peters	...	Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams	...	Patty Bernstein
Mabel King	...	Mother
Richard Ward	...	Father
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Taj Jonson
Bill Macy	...	Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Madman
Dick O'Neill	...	Frosty
Maurice Evans	...	Hobart
Helena Carroll	...	Hester
Ren Woods	...	Elvira Jonson (as Ren Wood)
Pepe Serna	...	Punk #1 in Blue Chevy
Sonny Terry	...	Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee	...	Blues Singer (as Brownie McGee)

Also Known As:

Easy Money (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1980) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Devonshire Downs - Devonshire Street at Zelzah Avenue, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Navin first receives the glasses from Stan Fox, the part of the glasses that hook around the ears have almost no hook to them. After Navin installs the nose bridge handle (the opti-grab), the glasses have normal ear hooks.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: The Little Things (#1.17)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

You Belong To Me

Steve Martin is the funniest man ever. Period.

I am 16 years old. Therefore, i was not even around when this movie was made. The one day, though, i was walking through the movie store, and i saw a sign that said 2 movies for ten dollars. So, with my dads advice, i bought this movie. I watched it, and couldn't stop laughing the whole way through. I realized that Steve Martin is the funniest man ever. Period. Second to none. This movie was the funniest movie I've ever seen, and it got me hooked on other Steve Martin movies. Since then, I seen Planes Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the Father of the Bride movies, and i can't get enough of him. I can only hope that he starts to act in more comedies, because i haven't seen him in any for a while. My rating for The Jerk is ten out of ten, two thumbs up, and five out of five stars. Thank you, Steve Martin.